U.S. Speedskating, athletes reach settlement

Kelly Whiteside | USA TODAY Sports

Mike Plant has taken over as president of NGB

Agreement has led to greater transparency for organization

Scandal involved skate tampering charge

After an athlete boycott, the resignation of two coaches, the removal of two top officials at U.S. Speedskating, a skate-tampering scandal and 15 months of acrimony, a settlement has been reached between the sport's national governing body and the seven athletes who filed the grievance.

"We are very pleased to put this behind us," U.S. Speedskating President Mike Plant said in a statement released Friday. "U.S. Speedskating has been working tirelessly over the last few months to improve the organization and our governance, which we believe will mean better results on the ice for our athletes. This resolution will allow the organization and the individuals involved to move forward and work together as we get ready for the upcoming Olympics in Sochi."

Ed Williams, the lawyer representing the athletes, praised the resolution and Plant's leadership. (The Atlanta Braves vice president and former U.S. speedskater took over in March.) "The agreement reached today will further strengthen U.S. Speedskating's financial, governance, and management processes, increase the transparency of its operations, and ensure that fair and unbiased athlete selection procedures will be implemented going forward," Williams said in the statement. The parties involved in the dispute agreed not to comment further on the terms of the resolution.

The athletes' grievance was filed last August and in recent months sweeping changes have been enacted, including a restructuring of its bylaws and the make-up of its board of directors which will include four independent directors with no direct connection to the sport.

Last spring the group of short track skaters forced change by leaving the National Racing Program and filed a grievance seeking the the removal of the coaching staff on charges of physical and emotional abuse. Since then the team has been divided by those who support former head coach Jae Su Chun and those who filed the Section 10 complaint.

Chun and his assistant were suspended by the national governing body through the 2014 Games after admitting to being aware that U.S. skater Simon Cho tampered with a Canadian rival's skates at a competition. The findings of disciplinary proceedings against Cho, a 2010 Olympic bronze medalist, are expected next week. Chun could also face a lifetime ban from the sport.

If Chun is banned, those top skaters such as Jessica Smith and Lana Gehring will be without a coach six months before the Sochi Games.

This past year the USA's most successful Winter Olympic sport has been the nation's most dysfunctional Winter Olympic sport. That began to change when Plant took over and started moving as fast as his skaters. Under his leadership, the board has changed its governance structure, developed a strategic plan and has focused on fundraising.

Plant is also not afraid to shake up a long-held organizational structure frozen in time and ice. "This isn't like when I was skating in the late '70s, early '80s where every one of these national governing bodies were mom and pop and run like Little League," Plant said in a recent interview.

Many of short track's top Americans are also struggling financially after they saw their stipends slashed. Earlier this month, USA TODAY Sports chronicled Emily Scott's wrenching decision to apply for food stamps after her monthly stipend was cut from $1,950 to $600 a month. Both Aly Dudek and J.R. Celski, who set a world record in the 500 meters last season, saw their monthly checks go from about $2,100 to $1,700. Travis Jayner, a 2010 Olympic medalist, is coming off one of his best seasons on the national team but saw his funding go from $1,500 to $1,000.

"You can't change it. You just have to accept it," said Dudek, a 2010 medalist said in a recent interview.

Jayner said he's using it as motivation to get on the podium in Sochi. Both said most people assume they are well funded because they are elite athletes. "That's the magic of the Olympics. It covers actually what is going on," Dudek said. "We work really, really hard, eight to 10 hours a day, six days a week. I don't think people understand we're professional athletes. So many people say, 'Oh short track is my favorite thing to watch! What do you do in between Olympics?' "

"We work harder," Jayner said. And now, perhaps a bit more peacefully.